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Sixteen Year Old Aunt Ruthie Writes about an Election

Sixteen Year Old Aunt Ruthie Writes about an Election

by MarianBeaman | Nov 18, 2020 | blog, Coming of Age, Family / Nostalgia, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Quotations

“Where have you been hiding?” I asked myself as I discovered a tiny, green volume under three other, larger diaries. Over three years ago, my sisters and I cleared out our Aunt Ruthie’s house. They agreed to my placing her diaries and journals in my suitcase, flying...
School Opens: Aunt Ruthie’s Diary Speaks

School Opens: Aunt Ruthie’s Diary Speaks

by MarianBeaman | Sep 2, 2020 | blog, Education, Family / Nostalgia, Memory, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia

At Rheems Elementary School in Pennsylvania, classes began right after Labor Day, just like clockwork. My aunt was my teacher in the first four grades, the charms and challenges of which I describe in my memoir.   Miss Longenecker, aka my Aunt Ruthie, taught...
Extracting Honey, Bee-ing Kind

Extracting Honey, Bee-ing Kind

by MarianBeaman | Oct 23, 2019 | blog, Education, Family / Nostalgia, Memory, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Uncategorized

Aunt Ruthie’s 1945 Diary tells stories of her daily life, but it also holds clippings of other things, like a bee swarm . . .                       Cartoonists of this era tried to cram lots of action into one scene. Here’s a detail:                    ...

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